Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 51

fj f- Herbicidcs on the lawn and gsrden3E irfllCI feEP cScttDSE 'bag ladies' be on i7 Lj "7 Looking for food in all the' wrong places 1 2E 4" feSlj TV, itedioi4ET.rr; Crottwordi5E 1 "ztzi ill 4 the gallery CNN'S Peter Arnett would go to hell for an interview By Pave MathenyStaff Writer Peter Arnett would go to hell if he thought he could get an interview with the devil. Hitler's down there, too, Arnett said, and he'd love to interview old Adolf at the same time. Arnett, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Vietnam War, skyrocketed into national con-sciousness, even into world con- sciousness, on the opening night of the Persian Gulf War, as one of three reporters broadcasting over CNN from the ninth floor of the Al Rashid hotel in downtown Bagh- dad, Iraq. He will speak about his experiences Friday at 12:15 p.m. in Northrop Arnett's reports became a central feature of the war.

There were the daily allied military briefings, the smart-bomb TV, the shots of airplanes taking off on bomb runs and Arnett, reporting by a telephone link from the garden of the Al Rashid, often with sound of explosions in the near distance. When Arnett became the sole Western reporter remaining in Baghdad, his life expectancy seemed in doubt. It was easy to picture the tiny figure of Arnett in the garden as it might appear on smart-bomb TV, getting closer by the second, until the bomb hit, screen went blank and Arnett's broadcasts stopped for good. Reached by phone at CNN offices in Washington, D.C., Arnett said he knew, after the first few days, that he was not in grave personal dan-9er- That first night did take him by surprise. "We thought the war would start a day or two later than ft did.

That's what Saddam thought too. They were not ready for that raid. The city was lit up, he said. Then the sky tit up. "We heard the bombers come very close, The sky was so bright with explosions and then the electronic chaff.

And I want to tell you it was REAL NOISY." Arnett soon realized that these bombs were highly accurate. "I'd seen the smart bombs at the end of the Vietnam War. And I took President Bush at his word, that only military installations would be targeted. I assumed the Al Rashid was not on the target list." Arnett was where he wanted to be, given that he had to be in Iraq at all. He would have preferred to have covered allied forces, he said; "My druthers would have been the allied forces in the gulf, covering the Marines.

My sympathies were with Stormin' Norman. In my view, Saddam had it coming to him. "But fate had it that I was on the other side" of the battle lines. He was assigned to Baghdad. Shortly after the war began, he was one of only 17 Western Journalists remaining in Baghdad.

Soon he was the only one. Having somebody there to report, ARNETT Continued on page 16E Working late in his downtown Minneapolis studio, Allen Christian chiseled a sculpture from a bowling ball. Below right, a ball with a face stood mounted on a spring. I I Balls go from the alley to Dn the Minneapolis White Pages one can find V-listings for the House of Birds and the House of Wing, the House of Breakfast Plus and the House of Steaks, the House of Prayer and the House of Seven Fires, the House of Motors and the House of Vacuums, the House of Videos and the -House of Vision. old alley where, somehow, bowling intersects art.

"Open around midnight," says the white hand-. lettered sign on the window at 16 N. 1st St. in Minneapolis. "Or by appointment." Located just around the corner from the new Hennepin Av.

bridge in the old Berman Buckskin build- ing, the House of Balls exists on many different BALLS Continued on page 4E But nowhere is there mention of the House of Balls. Not to worry, though, it is there, lodged somewhere -in the twilight zone of reality, situated near en odd-v- Text Bob Ehlert Staff Photos Tom Sweeney The street-level window of the House of Balls, Christian's studio, features completed works and a pad of paper on which passersby can write notes. There's also a microphone connected to a message A review Kohn, Art Resources shows are satisfying Flesh Unicorn1 mocks pursuit of sexual 'rush By Peter VaughanStaff Writer Red Eye Collaboration has taken on the major task of demystifying sex in "Flesh Unicorn," its latest collaborative effort Sexual gratification has achieved the status of the Holy Grail in contemporary society. Almost everyone fantasizes about it Endless television commercials try to sell ft. Movies and television demonstrate ft.

Now Red Eye has the cheek to suggest that dare we say it? not only is sexual gratification elusive but perhaps, it's not at all what it's cracked up to be. I'B confess that I'm not quite sure that's the thrust of "Flesh Unicorn" RED EYE Continued on page 5E v. jn th0 gaJris afternoons are notable for what they lack, that is, any reference to the artist's recent life. For the past six years, Maakestad and his wife have been based in Hong Kong, where he designs promotional and advertising campaigns for an international corporation that stages trade shows throughout the Orient It would seem natural for this extended exposure to Oriental GALLERIES Continued on 6E "Prairie Creek" (1991) is one of the Tom Maakestad landscapes on exhibit at Suzanne Kohn's gallery hi Minneapolis. By Mary AbbeStaff Writer The landscaDes and fiaure studies featured in new shows at Suzanne Kohn's Minneapolis gallery and Art Resources in SL Paul are much too conventional to find a niche in art history, but their pleasant subjects and capable execution make these shows satisfying nevertheless.

Kohn, who has galleries on Grand Av. in St Paul and in International Design Center, 100 2nd Av. Minneapolis, is featuring recent landscapes by Northfield, native Tom Maakestad at the Minneapolis location through May 25. Maakestad's serene views of Minnesota fields slumbering in the torpid heat of midsummer.